James Clendon Tau (Hemi) Henare

Ngā Puhi, Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Whātua, Waikato, Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Aitanga a Māhaki, Rongowhakaata

1911 - 1989

James Henare was the son of politician Tau Henare. He was educated at Motatau N. School, Sacred Heart College and the Terrace School in Wellington. He went on to study at Massey College where he graduated with a Diploma in Agriculture and then worked on a Development Scheme for the Teachers’ Training College. In 1933 he married Rose Cherrington. He served in the Māori Battalion in the Second World War and rose to the rank of Commander of the Battalion. During the war he was wounded three times and was awarded the DSO. On returning to New Zealand, he worked as a District Māori Welfare Officer in the Auckland and North Auckland districts. In 1964 he was appointed by the Governor General to the Board of Māori Affairs. In 1966 he was awarded the CBE and in 1977 received a knighthood and an honorary doctorate by the University of Auckland. With Tilly Reedy and others, he assisted in founding Te Kohanga Reo. In later life he farmed at Motatau. In his writing he wrote under the name Hemi Henare. "Sir James is the sole surviving member of the Ngapuhi Council of Chiefs of the Treaty of Waitangi. For 48 years he has been a member of the Waitangi National Trust Board which administers the Waitangi National Reserve for and on behalf of New Zealand’s people."

Biographical sources

  • Phone conversation with Lady Rose Henare 17 August 1998.
  • Report of Young Māoris Conference, 1939: vi.
  • Te Ao Hou 46 (1964): 7.
  • "Māori Leaders Receive Queen’s Birthday Honours." Te Ao Hou 56 (1966): 53.
  • Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Volume 1: Te Whakahuatanga O Te Ao: Reflections of Reality. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing editors: Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1992. 37.
  • "Honour the Treaty." Te Iwi o Aotearoa 15 (1988): 8-9.

    Non-fiction

  • "Foreword". Te Marae: A Guide to Customs & Protocol. Hiwi and Pat Tauroa. Photographs by Gil Hanly. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed Methuen, 1986. Rpt 1987. n.pag
  • Henare writes that with "goodwill, greater understanding, and better knowledge of each other’s values and culture" the barriers between Māori and Pakeha can "be demolished", and he asserts that Te Marae: A Guide to Customs & Protocol will therefore be "an extremely valuable contribution to race relations".
  • "Honour the Treaty." Te Iwi o Aotearoa 15 (1988): 8-9.
  • In this speech to Members of Parliament in 1988, Henare presents a lengthy discourse on the events leading up to the signing of the Treaty and discusses the different translations and polarised views concerning the Treaty even in the 1880s. He outlines the implications of not ratifying the Treaty which he states has left the stage open for legislation which violates the Treaty principles. He discusses the principles of true democracy, cites various European examples of treaties being adhered to, and quotes various world leaders endorsing the need to honour treaties and not to subject them to the vagaries of political thought. Henare argues that "the Treaty of Waitangi, its terms and principles should be paramount in every law enacted by Parliament so as to give it full, binding, lawful and moral status."
  • "The Taste of the Kumara." One of the Boys? Changing Views of Masculinity in New Zealand. Ed. Michael King. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1988. 1-15.
  • An autobiographical account.

    • Other

  • "Te Kohanga Reo." Hemi Henare. Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 1: Te Whakahuatanga O Te Ao: Reflections of Reality. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1992. 37-39.

  • Papers/Presentations

  • "Opening Address." Māori Educational Development Conference, Tuurangawaewae Marae, 23-25 March, 1984. Sponsored by NZ Māori Council. Nga Tumanako. Ed. Ranginui Walker. [Auckland, N.Z.]: Centre for Continuing Education, U of Auckland, 1984. 5.
  • In this paraphrase of Henare’s address, Henare recalls his education in taha Māori and taha Pakeha and expresses his optimism that "kohanga reo will put pre-schoolers back in touch with their culture."

    Other

  • "A Tribute to Margaret Puriri." Sir James Henare/Ta Hemi Henare. Tu Tangata 26 (1985): 44.
  • An obituary in Māori and English to Margaret Puriri who was "a member of the Kahui Ariki of Ngapuhi, Te Rarawa, Aupouri, Ngātikahu and Ngātiwhatua" plus Te Atiawa and "other southern tribes". She died in 1985.
  • Te Ao Hou 46 (1964): 7.
  • A brief article noting Henare’s appointment to the Board of Māori Affairs.
  • "Māori Leaders Receive Queen’s Birthday Honours." Te Ao Hou 56 (1966): 53.
  • Noting Henare’s appointment as Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.) in the 1966 Queen’s Birthday Honours.
  • "Sir James Henare." Tu Tangata 19 (1984): 12-13.